Little Drummer Boy
by Kaiberie
Summary: Incomplete, ch5 just up. The team gain a new ADA and some heartache, when a member of the the DA's office brings his goddaughter on board. First of a series of SUV's depending on R and R :)
1. Prologue

Little Drummer Boy by Kaiberie

The Law and Order series and all its characters owned by the people that created them.  Not only do I have no claim, I am in awe.  Kara Harper- Jordaine (sometimes Carter) is mine and I'd appreciate it if you didn't borrow her.  She and an "Elliot Peters" are the 'stars' of my real life novels, for which I use fan fiction as a testing ground.  

Thanks J

The doorman opened the door for her with a soft smile.  Long legs, a beautiful figure, the hint of some sort of tribal tattoo on her thigh, he'd seen her come and go the last few days.  Xander, her brother, had left instructions that she was to be allowed to come and go and be let in to the apartment if there was no one there.

"Miss Harper?"

"Hmm?" she said, looking up into his face, stopping just before ducking under his arm.

"The light has been reported as broken between your landing and the one below it.  Do you want me to accompany you to the door?"  She closed her eyes, thinking.

"Yes…yes please.  Do you have a flashlight?"

"Of course.  I'll go retrieve it," he said with a smile.  

Standing just inside the door, she bent to remove her shoes.  As she rose, she looked over to the mirror: the woman looking back was stunningly plain.  Long red hair, waist length and curly, caught off her face in braids, pinned back.  Her huge violet eyes were made up dramatically, pure grey and charcoal framing them.  Her lipstick was slightly faded; she was chewing her lip again.  She tracked the length of her body, as she straightened, eyes taking in but not seeing the still slender figure and good looking form of a young woman.  All she saw was the thing they used against her most.  It stopped on her leg, the edge of her tattoo showing.  She lifted the edge of her skirt, her other hand crossing her stomach and holding the rest of the material flat against the edge of her leg, looking at the hieroglyphs and colour.

"I've got it…and Miss, if you don't mind me saying, that IS a stunning tattoo," the doorman said, smiling appreciatively.

"Was done for a dare," she replied dropping the edge of her skirt, eyes wide.  He gestured towards the stairs and she nodded, bending to take one shoe then the other off with practiced ease.  She crossed the cold foyer, watching where she was walking, and then began to ascend the stairs.

"Your brother says you are a lawyer?" he said and she shrugged.

"Yeah, I was out for a meal with some of my new colleagues.  I work in the DA's office now,." she paused and wrinkled her nose.  "Smells like someone peed out here," They'd reached the second floor landing and he paused a minute.

"That happens a lot…students mainly live here," the guard supplied, flicking on the light.  He tracked the light over the stairs in front of them, noting the puddles, chose a route for them both and began to climb.    They reached the top and she smiled her thanks.

"I'll wait miss, till you get into the house…just in case," he said.  Xander was a good guy, a nurse in St Marks.  She knocked once and waited, shifting from foot to foot.  After a couple of minutes she knocked again.

"He's in," she confirmed.  The doorman frowned, hearing sounds of stirring from within, yet the door still didn't open after a few minutes.

"Chris?  Christian, don't fuck with me, come on…open the door!" she called banging on the wooden outer door of the apartment, frustrated.  Shivering, she pulled her coat tighter, eyeing the end of the darkened corridor with faint distrust, and then looking back to the doorman.

"Christian, if you don't open this fucking door NOW…" A loud thump against the door caused her to step back, interrupted her.  Then total silence.  Something oozed under the edge of the door…..

Blood.


	2. Chapter 1

"So you're…?" Detective Stabler began, and Kara smiled at the mug in her hands, mirthless pain etched into her face.

"A visitor…is it illegal in New York by any chance?" she said

 "You're not American," he said, and Detective Olivia Benson's head snapped up.

"Look, I'm British; I have a valid passport, green card, VISA… all that CRAP.  I found him, nothing more.  He's my brother in law.  I might not have liked him all that much, and it might have been my meds he took, but for Pete's sake…." she said, running her hand through her fringe, raking it back.  Her eyes flashed deep purple as the light caught them and his frown deepened.

"Are you clean?"

"Am I what?"

"Are you on anything that would cause your eyes to glaze like that?"

"No" she said, and then poked her finger in her eye, removing a contact with ease.  Elliot blinked, as she held out her finger to him, "Never heard of coloured contact lenses over here or is it the fact that they are purple and my eyes are grey that's bothering you?" she added.  He leaned forward, and she tilted her head towards the light: a grey eye peered back dully at him, the shine gone.  Her eyes were bloodshot from crying; Elliot sighed and turned away again.

Cragen looked at Alex Cabot and said, "sometimes I really wonder about this place…run that one by me again…she's who?"

"Jack's goddaughter, starts at our office on Monday"

"Alex, you're telling me that she works for us?"

"Not only does she work for us, if she has to name the people she was eating with, Elliot is probably going to swallow his mug.  She was out with Jack tonight, and Breighen," Cragen closed his eyes.

"Why didn't she just say?"

"Kara is worried about people seeing that Jack knows her and thinking she got the job because of that, or because she's…."

"She WORKS with us?" Detective Fin Tutuola said, incredulously.  "She looks…"

"Like a child…yes I know, do I speak some form of English that men don't understand?" she said, tartly, then smiled, sadness pouring into her features, "She knows more about Victims than anyone will in the department," 

"She doesn't look like an ADA…didn't when we brought her in either," Alex rolled her eyes.  

"She is.  I'll tell her the next time she goes out that she has to wear a trouser suit and a blouse.  I felt it might be good that she meet you this week….so much for that plan"

She said, running her fingers through her hair.  "He probably won't manage to rattle her, if she doesn't say no in a minute that is,"

"Tell us again what happened," Elliot said softly, the speaker barely picking it up, and Kara looked at him incredulously, before settling her contact lens back in her eye.  Alex leaned against the glass, watching as Olivia looked at the notes on the desk in front of her.

 Elliot peered out of the window, waiting.  He turned, "Well?"

"No" Kara said, her voice strong and cold suddenly.  Alex smiled mirthlessly at Fin.  She didn't need to prove anything suddenly. Right then, Fin realised Alex wasn't joking.  That was court room tone, and its effect wasn't usually lost on anyone.   

"Excuse me?" Elliot crossed to the table, arms crossed.  Alex saw her eyes widen and looked at Cragen.

"I said no, I've told you often enough.  I'm not going through it again unless there is some SPECIFIC detail you don't get" Stabler looked at Benson and she shrugged.

"And you're pregnant?"

"Yes officer," she said, steel coming into her voice.

"He doesn't happen to have been the father of the child, does he?" He said, and Alex held her breath.   She closed her eyes, briefly then looked at Cragen.  Kara's head dropped slightly, looking at her hands on the table, lip trembling.

"You have to stop this," she said.  Cragen looked back at her, confused, then crossed to the door and knocked.

"What about that baby?"  Elliot persisted, leaning on the table.  "Come on, who would be stupid enough to believe a pregnant woman, could do any damage…" he said, leaning on the table, bringing his face to her level.

"Ok, that's it.  I'm through," she snapped, her head coming up, eyes blazing.  She looked to Olivia, then back to Elliot.  He heard the second, more insistent knock on the door, and pulled back.

Olivia glanced at the mirrored window, and then rose to leave the room.  Reluctantly, Elliot followed.

"What's WITH you?" she said, once the door had closed snugly behind him.  "She's not a known user or streetwalker, her story checks with the doorman, FUCK Elliot, what's your problem?"   She was using the mirror to put her contact lens back in properly, rubbing her eye like a tired child.  She crossed back to the table and sat down, then lay her head on her arms.

"Thoughts council?" ADA Cabot shrugged, shooting a look at Cragen.

"We've got nothing on her, other than Elliot's gut reaction," to which she glanced over to Dr Huang.  He shook his head, refusing to be baited, his eyes fixed on the floor.

 "Tampering with the evidence," he said, grunting as he loosened his tie. "Her eyes looked…"

"Contact lenses, even I knew that," Olivia said.  "Hell, she was open about the fact she'd moved things.  In fact, by that time the doorman was back with her"

"He was nude!"  

"Yeah, she covered him with a towel.  She tried to save her brother in law Elliot, nothing more. The fact that she's pregnant has bearing how?" she said, angrily.  He shrugged, "Until we get something else that states the contrary, let it go",

"She's hiding something," he murmured.

"And you're so sure it's to do with this case and not something else?" Alex said, her voice snapping.  "Gut instinct is one thing Elliot, but if you keep this up, you might make an enemy of someone you don't want to.  Now if we're done here…?"

Cragen nodded, and Alex walked away, shaking her head.

  Munch's face contorted as he added, "I can't believe she'd just take it out like that,"


	3. Chapter 2

(authors note….this feels a bit…stilted, sorry…it does explain a couple of things though, and is needed for something later in the story.  I promise I'll try and fix it though)

Three months earlier

Elliot's stomach always did back flips in cases that were big to him.  Some came huge, some came tiny.  This one had been a whale to land, and a bitch to prosecute.  One victim was refusing to come forward, the one that held the key to the attempted murder case.  Six counts of rape was nothing to be sneezed at though.

He glanced across the courtroom at a woman seated in the very back row.  She kept fidgeting with her hair, tugging on one black ringlet, pulling it to her mouth and chewing it absently. Alex Cabot, turned around, glanced at him, then her gaze crossed to where he was staring and her eyes widened.  Elliot saw the hesitant wave And Alex turning around and murmuring something to her first chair, then glanced back to another member of the audience, jerking her eyes in the direction of the woman.  Elliot nearly jumped out of his skin when Jack McCoy turned around and looked over at her.  The woman seemed rattled by that, and her gaze dropped.  Intrigued, he watched her for a bit.  Eventually, she looked up meeting his eyes.

Like being electrocuted, her eyes shocked his normally calm demeanour out of the window.  Electric hazy purple, huge, they met his eyes and then skittered off as she rose and practically fled the room.  Elliot just kinda sat there, then shaking his head returned his attention to the court.

Once the verdict had been handed down, the knot in his stomach eased somewhat.  Adrian Jordaine would be locked up for a long time.  He watched Jack leave the room and waited for Alex.

"Ok, I guess you knew her then?" he said, aiming for casual.  The purple eyes had rattled him: they looked unreal.

"Who?"

"The woman that bolted when Jack spotted her.  Black hair, snow white skin, the most vivid light purple eyes…." he replied.

Alex frowned at him

"She was a previous witness who had gotten really distressed.  The judge had conducted her fact-finding in a closed court right at the beginning," Alex said, avoiding his gaze.  Elliot nodded.

"Witness to the stabbing?" he said.

"You could say that," Alex said, opening the courtroom door.

Jack McCoy pushed the courtroom door open and looked around.  He spotted the black hair first: seated on the windowsill, she had her back to the courtroom door.  She was playing with her curls, again.  Jack knew why.

"Ceriys?" he said, gently, low, as he approached.  She started, jumping off the windowsill and overbalancing and he stepped forward, almost scooping her into his arms.  He remembered doing this when she was a child, and suddenly longed to take her back to then, "He can't harm you any more little one," he continued, catching her. She struggled briefly, then fell into his chest.  He pulled her up and held her as she cried all fight going out of her.

Alex and Elliot stepped out into the hall a few minutes later, Jack still cradling Ceriys.

"I have to go talk…" she said, walking away.  The woman that Jack was holding wasn't fighting; seemed to only be able to cry.  Elliot caught the edge of what looked to be a very ugly scar before he turned away.  He knew exactly who she was now.

Adrian had tried to murder his ex-wife.  She would by Mrs Harper-Jordaine.  

What Jack's involvement was though, was anyone's guess.

Present Day – Giannieras eatery

Olivia picked her way through the tables of Alex's choice of lunch places.  Twenty minutes late as she was, she still walked slowly to the table.  Alex had company, a red haired woman who was sipping her water and looking only at Alex.  As Olivia approached, she realised she knew the woman.

"Don't I know you?" Olivia said when she made it to the table.  She looked up, intense violet eyes startling Olivia into total stillness.  And then she smiled.

"Yeah, I would think so.  Around a month ago you attended my brother's apartment.  Your partner busted my chops for a bit," Olivia frowned then smiled in acknowledgment.

"Ceriys right?"

"Kara.  Most people call me Charisma, though you're right, my first name is Ceriys" she said, moving to stand up.

"Oh, don't stand on ceremony…!" she said, and sat down, then looked at Alex.

"You said I was meeting a friend,"

"And you are," Alex smiled.  "Ceriys Charisma Harper Jordaine, I'd like you to meet Detective Olivia Benson.  Olivia, Kara joins us as our new Assistant DA," Alex said.  "I thought it might be better for you to know so that you can at least temper Elliot a little.  Kara isn't the best of people to startle,"

"Alex, don't,"

"You have to tell the people you work with of your limitations Kara.  I'm not doing this because I want to, I'm doing this because you might end up hurting one of the men in there,"

"I'm not that bad,"

"You just about broke your assistant's wrist when he snuck up on you a couple of weeks ago,"

"Hang on, Alex….. Harper-Jordaine…?" Olivia began.

"I'm divorced," she said simply.

"Jordaine though.  You mean Adrian Jordaine…" she persisted.

"I might, I might not," she responded.

"Please tell me you're not the woman he tried to kill…."

"Ask me no questions I'll tell you no lies," she said, peeling back her shirt.  An ugly scar ran along her neckline "I'd appreciate it if this wasn't raised when talking to anyone in your unit," she added.

"We prosecuted him last month for the rape of six women," Olivia persisted.  "How long have you been divorced?"

"Three years, and I know," Kara said, a hand dropping to her stomach and the other rising to cover her mouth. Excusing herself she left the table, and Alex sighed.

"I don't think its what you said as much as nerves," she called after her, and Kara shook her head.

"She was the unnamed…" Olivia said, rolling her eyes.

"Elliot kept pushing about the closed file, he kept pushing me to make her come forward, kept telling me to get the DA's office to lean on her.  Was I supposed to tell you both that it was Jack's goddaughter that he was married to?"

"How did you manage to suppress it?"

"We didn't.  Elliot was there when her full name was read in court, and passed her in the corridor. He saw her in court the day sentencing was handed down.  Had he been there the first morning he would have seen her pass out and Jack to have reacted the way any concerned family member would.   He kept saying her eyes bothered him.  She wears coloured contact lenses to cover her real eye colour, and she'd briefly dyed her hair black.  He recognised her violet eyes though," Alex said, looking around the quiet restaurant.

"Is she the one that is pregnant?" Olivia bit her lip; the answer had already presented itself.

"Yep," Alex said, taking a sip of wine.  "I wanted you to get to know her before she gets thrown in at the deep end.  It'll be bad enough for her the first time she talks to Elliot," 


	4. Chapter 3

It's funny how things stayed with you.  

Autumn had swung back into the city, faithful companion to crime, as the nights grew longer and the days grew colder.  Elliot liked autumn though: something about the colours, and the joyous delight in his children as Christmas approached.  His kids weren't really all that young any more, but still, they seemed to take great pleasure in the wonder of the up and coming season.  Halloween first though.  

Halloween: trick or treat sometimes took on a whole new meaning around then.  Something about the new moon and those who really didn't understand the morality of the human race as a whole: their sheets were full.  Still though, a flash of red hair and violet contacts always sent Elliot's heart into his mouth.  She'd rattled him.  Matter of fact yet full of compassion, her eyes were like looking though a door into the pits of oblivion.     

"Elliot?  A word??" Cragen said, holding the door to his office open. Elliot glanced at Munch and Olivia, before slamming down his pen and crossing the bull-pen to the glass panelled room.

"A perp seems to think you had him by the throat when you collared him," he began.

"No," Elliot said, flatly, looking at a point on the wall.

"He's screaming police brutality,"

"He tried to run away, I subdued him," Elliot said, still looking straight ahead..

"You've never been the same since that woman told you no, everyone has noticed.  What's gotten into you?"

"Nothing," Elliot said, his voice gaining an edge.  Since they'd found one of the other men implicated in the Jordaine case, Elliot had worried it…like a dog with a piece of flesh, chewing to get to the bone.

"You are out with the jurisdiction of our department pursuing that case detective.  It was ruled a suicide.  Lithium causes you to fit; he had one head injury that they think he sustained hitting the door, why can't you let it go?"

"Juris-MY-Diction!" he said, his voice raising, snarling.

"She's gotten to you, and I don't know why.  What did you see in those eyes that rattled you like this?"  Elliot looked at him, leaning on his knuckles on the desk, then sank into the chair.  There was a tap on the door and Cragen gestured.

"Nothing.  That is exactly the point.  It was like looking into the eyes of someone who had suffered at the hands of her tormentor, and could see her tormentor staring back at her,"

"I think you met one of the silent ones Elliot," Olivia said, throwing a file on the desk.

"The new assistant DA wants to see you," she added to Cragen.  Cragen closed his eyes.

"I was hoping that you could meet when things were slightly less charged," he began, looking up at the woman in the doorway "ADA Harper I'd like you to meet Detective Elliot Stabler…again," Elliot's head snapped up, and he turned around, only to meet the eyes that had been haunting him with a little more sparkle.

"Yes Detective, I'm one of the silent ones," she said, offering a hand.  

Elliot's jaw worked and he shot a look at Cragen.

"She's DA's office, you might have met her in court for all I knew" he shrugged.  Elliot turned to her, and took her hand.  There was no tremble in her handshake, it was firm and to the point.

He shook her hand, looking her up and down slowly, then met her eyes again, letting go of her hand.  .Her hand strayed to her slightly extended stomach and she dropped her eyes from his gaze.. "So you're working for us now?"

"For a little while, just until another post opens up.  I've got other things to do between this post and that though too," he nodded.

"So are you a silent one from childhood or because of the child you're carrying?"  If he'd startled her, she didn't let on.  She smiled softly and handed him a file.

"You wanted these unlocked.  To the other, neither and both.  If you'll excuse me Captain," she nodded her head to him, "Detective, I have other matters to attend to,"

She turned and left, sedately.

"That was uncalled for Detective," Cragen said.  Elliot shrugged.

"She's a lawyer, if they get a hold of that; they can use it against her,"

"She's DA's office, a breed apart," Cragen said, as Elliot opened the file: getting files unlocked for gang members was one thing, finding dirt under an alias and tying it to the same file was unheard of.  She'd done both by the looks of things.  A note in the file said that the information had been cross referenced last year then 'lost'.

"Son of a BITCH!" he exclaimed and handed the file to Cragen.

"She's good, I like her," he said, the smile rising to his eyes.


	5. Chapter 4

Three hours later

Elliot stretched and rose from his desk.  The office was quiet.  No crimes that they were needed for, he spent the evening catching up on paperwork.  Olivia was away getting coffee, the perp they'd collared was being interviewed by Munch and Tuttola, and it had been their collar he was only there to help.

He heard two female voices returning to the office after a time.

"You're lucky…sometimes it takes WEEKS to get Munch to shut up,"

The second voice laughed, "Munch got a fright when I nodded and said, "Trust no one, the truth is out there G-Man".  I kept a straight face," she said, the laughter turning silvery.  The unmistakable accent caused Elliot's stomach to tighten.  Something about ADA Harper made him want to fight, punch a wall, and kill someone.  She'd been abused in a bad way and he knew it.  Instincts screaming at him from within told him that he had to check this; it wasn't in his nature to walk away from anything.  Yet everyone was telling him to let it go.

She walked into the office ahead of Olivia, and Elliot grunted a hello.  He figured getting up out of the chair would scare her.

"Hello Detective.  Any more personal questions you feel the need to embarrass me with?" she asked, softly, crossing to his desk.  Her accent was a definite change from the American ones in the office.  Soft, melodic, almost Scottish, she had steeliness to her even when her voice was low.

"Nope, I think I'll wait until we're in open court next time," he said, anger rising again.  He pushed his chair back, going to rise, and she stepped back slightly.

"And then it will end up in your jacket," she smiled tightly, as he subsided, the light tremble in her voice .  "Your collar is…?"

"Interview room 2," he said, "Councillor, I didn't realise you used the threat of discipline on your men," he added, eyes shining brittly.

"I shouldn't need to," she smiled back tightly, peeling her blouse aside and catching a chain.  She pulled out a set of dog tags, though not before both Olivia and Elliot got more than a brief glimpse of her scarred throat.  Her blouse covered it over as she tugged her dog tags over her head and dropped them on Elliot's desk.

Elliot picked them up.  "Lieutenant Jaden Harper….would be who?"

"My twin brother.  If I could kick his arse, and he's SAS, what are your chances Detective?" she said and Olivia laughed.  She walked away and Olivia stopped smiling.

"Take those tags over and apologise Elliot.  Whatever is bothering you about her, work it out without taking it out on her,"

"She's Jordaine's wife," he hissed and Olivia shrugged.

"Ex wife and in case you missed what she was really showing us, she's the one he tried to decapitate.  I've caught a couple of glimpses of that scar and it looks really bad.  She's a victim, just like the ones we defend.  Get your head about of your ass and deal Elliot," she growled back, then crossed the bullpen to the coffee machine.

Elliot's stomach felt like the bottom had dropped out of it, and he sighed.  

The Jordaine case had pushed all his buttons, and continued to do so.  It had rocked the very foundations of the NYPD and DA's office to the core: one of their 'own' had been doing things that no human should.  He scooped up her tags, wondering why she would be wearing them if they were her brothers.  He looked at them, he top one was his, the bottom, …a woman's.  Perplexed he looked more closely at the tags.  

"Ceriys is my name," she told him, approaching him, her eyes reflecting delicate fear. They were slightly unfocussed, and something told him she needed….

Conscious thought wouldn't have allowed him to catch her as she passed out.  One minute she was upright, the next he'd caught her, inches from the floor.  Her eyes were closed, she was totally limp, a rag doll in his arms.  Light as a feather, she'd still fell awkwardly and it took a bit of work to get her into a position that he could scoop her up and work out his next move.  

"Liv!" his yelp must have carried across the room, because Cragen and Cabot looked out.  Alex's eyes widened and she darted over.

"What did you do?" she demanded.  Elliot shook his head.

"Is there anywhere quiet we can put her until medical attention…" Cragen began.  

"She's not one for hospitals, and that's where she'll end up," Alex said.  "I know she's not sleeping, I just didn't think…."

"If she's fainting from exhaustion, then she needs to find somewhere safe to sleep," Olivia said, meeting Alex's eyes.  

"We can put her up in the cribs," Elliot said, then shifted her weight.  "She's light, but….guys…"

"Put her up in the cribs and stay with her unless you get called out.  If she's still out at the end of your shift, she gets medical attention," Cragen sighed.  "And Elliot, if I ever hear you harassing a DA the way you have been recently, she's right, it WILL end up in your jacket,"  Elliot nodded curtly, then looked down at the woman in his arms.

"You've got five hours babes, and then it's a paramedic and the hospital,"


	6. Chapter 5

Olivia looked in a couple of hours later with coffee.  She was still unconscious, and Elliot was pacing the floor.

"Simple exhaustion doesn't cause someone to faint," he said, voice low.  "Kathy never…"

"She's not your wife, she doesn't have the same experiences and she's been here for nearly 36 hours.  I don't think I've ever seen her go home.  She's been napping in her office, I think.  Elliot, she was about to go out the door to go home, I'm thinking its straight exhaustion.  And she…"

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here, I can hear you both," she murmured.  Elliot jumped, turned around and then sighed.

"How long have you been awake?"

She shrugged.  "My head hurts…" she said, hand on her head.  She opened her eyes, dazed focus returning into them bit by bit.  Olivia handed her a bag.

"Alex says that you need this," Kara nodded, sitting up, carefully.

"Do you want a cup of tea," Olivia asked, shooting Elliot a look.  Kara nodded, pulling out a test pen.

"You're diabetic?"

She nodded, as Olivia left the room.  Elliot closed his eyes, starting with the pen clicked.

"It doesn't hurt, not really," she said, as she squeezed her finger.

"I don't really like the sight of blood," Elliot said, mildly.  "I can deal with it at a crime scene, but…I go all….I don't like blood being drawn willingly, and I really don't like needles,"

"I'd go stand outside then," she said, waiting for the monitor to beep. "Or not, I'm still just ok,"

She put everything away again, and sighed.

"I don't like fighting Detective.  You and I will have to get used to one another, so is there any possibility of starting again and trying to at least play nice?" she said, scratching at her neck.

"You'll open that up again," He crossed to the edge of the bed, about hip level and knelt beside her.  Startled, her eyes widened and she scooted back, up against the wall, "Hey, hey…easy," he said, voice low.  "I thought I'd come down to your level for a bit, is all," he said.  Far sparked through her eyes, a galvanising current.

"What is it about me that scares you so badly?" he asked, "Other than I'm a man," he added.  She shook her head.

"Adri has the same eyes as you," she muttered.  Elliot jerked.

"I'm not him," he told her.  "You know that," he added.

Olivia returned to the room, "Captain Cragen is going to pretend this didn't happen, though one of us have to take you home," she said, handing Kara a mug of tea, and Elliot another coffee.

"oh that's great, I'll have to let you see my scary neighbourhood.  I'm sure Jack will LOVE me for that one,"

"You stay with Jack McCoy?"

"no…that's what I mean.  He thinks I live somewhere marginally decent, and I don't," she said, then supplied an address.

"Yep, he would have kittens.  Hell, Tuttolla won't even live THERE," Olivia laughed softly.  

"Its only until Xander finds somewhere new to stay…we're thinking about coletting," she said.   "he's even willing to pretend…" she began, and then her face crumpled.

"Its totally normal to be scared when you're pregnant," Elliot said, pulling a tissue out of his pocket.

"You're a man, that's EASY for you to say," she said, vicious anger snapping through the tears, 

"I suppose it is, it's one of the consequences I can only understand on a mental level, but I do understand.  I've got four daughters.  It would kill me if they were going through what you are," he said, offering the tissue.  She was shaking so much he had to reach out and catch her wrist.

 "I'm…I'm sorry," Kara said, yanking back, smacking her head.  She winced, a hand coming up and rubbing the back of her head again.

"One, be careful, two, what for?" Olivia asked mildly.

"I'm some ADA, passing out on the job," she sniffled.

"You're still recovering from a very traumatic incident.  Elliot, back off for a couple of minutes, you're scaring her again," Olivia shot him a look and he subsided back, sitting on the cot bed across from her.  

"one of us is taking you home, the other will probably be coming along because I don't think you'll get in the car with Elliot, that's IF you don't feel you want to get your baby checked and make sure that everything's ok with him or her,"

"Him," she supplied automatically.  "and no, I've….I have a check-up tomorrow anyway.  Thanks, I think I'll get a cab,"

"No.  I live in the same direction as you anyway, I'll take you home, I just have to go down and wrap up some paperwork," Elliot said, rising from the bed and popping his shoulders.

"Ewwww…that's gross," Kara giggled.

"You sound like my eldest," Elliot smiled softly, "and from what I've seen you do with Fin's computer, I'm pretty sure she'd like you,"   His eyes met Olivia's and he mouthed, "FUCK"

She nodded, "Kara, you're all rumpled," she said, as Elliot left the room.

Elliot went down to his table, trembling every step of the way, and then sank into his chair.  He'd seen something on her leg; her skirt had ridden up to reveal something that he'd not even thought about until now.

Six months ago

There is this nice motel on the outskirts of New York, close to being classed as out of town.  It was where they were holding a couple of the witnesses for the Jordaine case.  Olivia was on leave, Munch was tying up paperwork.  Unless something happened, Fin and Elliot were on guard.

"I still can't believe his ex wife didn't know what was going on all those years,"

"I'm more curious as to who his seventh living victim is, given she's refused to testify," Elliot sighed, pouring a mug of coffee from his thermos.

"Remind me again why we don't always accept the fact that people don't want to prosecute?" Fin sighed, looking over the file again.

"In the case of Special Victims, sometimes we can't.  Sometimes there's a questionable circumstance," Elliot paused and took a sip of coffee, "sometimes they don't want to and withdraw.  Sometimes we can convince them to give evidence, sometimes we can't," he took a longer swig of his coffee then sighed, "What I cannot believe is we've been sent to guard the motel of someone that was once linked to the scumbag and that Las Vegas have sent to us, ,"

Fin snorted.  "Sometimes Elliot, you're all heart,"

"You notice it's me and you that gets dumped with the mugs duty though?"

"Yeah, well…sometimes the grunts do the grunt work.  What worries me is that it's the DA's office that signed off on her being watched, and Alex didn't know anything about it till the paperwork landed on her desk,"

"She tell you that?"

"Maybe.  Harper-Jordaine.  I'm guessing she's his wife.  Or was," Fin supplied him with the orders and he read them and the accompanying file over.

"Oh, lookie, she's a lawyer," he said with a sarcastic smile.  "Wonder if she's a suspect,"

The door to the motel room opened and a small figure looked out, looked directly at the car and then crossed to them.

"Jack would like a word," she told them, coming alongside Elliot's door.  She didn't bend down.  Fin held his breath; her dressing gown was short enough that they could see the tattoo on her hip.  He could just about make out a rune, or a hieroglyph.  That was some marking.  Just below it was a long jagged scar, wrapping around her leg.

"Miss, I don't think you should…"  She just gestured with the phone. 

Fin opened his car door and got out, to have a good look at her, and was surprised at what he saw.  Tall, dark hair, it looked dyed, with a flimsy, short wrap around dress on, he could see another scar that started under her chin.

"He did that to you?" he said, and she nodded, pulling the edge of her dress away from her neck.

"I don't want him to get at me again, I want away from this," she told him, eyes flashing storm grey in the light thrown as a truck passed the hotel.  She recoiled slightly and Fin sighed.

"Why did Jack phone you?"

"cause I'm family.  Harper.  I'm his niece," she told him.  Fin closed his eyes.  It all made perfect sense suddenly.

"She's not testifying again," Jack said the minute Elliot put the phone to his ear.  

"So we're not needed any more?"

"Nope.  She's one of the silent ones now,"

Elliot spoke with him for a couple of more minutes, then hung up.

"You'll always be one of the Silent ones then?" he said, as she took the phone.

"Whatever you say officer,"

Present day 

"Son of a fucking BITCH!" Fin yelled, suddenly, and threw his pen down.  "She's been looking me straight in the FUCKING…..ARGH!" he yelled.

Elliot looked up.  "It just dawned on you who our new DA is then?" he smiled tightly.

"Hell, fucking…"

"Detective Tuttola, we have female company on this floor, do you mind?" the Captain said, poking his head out of the office.  Munch grinned.

"He's just pissed cause he said he got a good look at her legs and liked what he saw," Elliot frowned.

"I was closer though.  I got such a good look, I can tell you…"  A hand slapped across the back of his head.

"Could we alter the tone of this conversation given she's still upstairs.  Oh Elliot, I borrowed your tracksuit for her, she's a different frame to me," she said.

"Yes ma'am, I was going to offer anyway," Elliot grinned at her and she stuck out her tongue.

"I'm jealous, she's got your name tattooed on her back," she said, the retort blazing out in an ironic stream.  Elliot jerked.

"She's what?"

"Has Elliot tattooed across the centre of her back,"

"Is that what it says?" Munch smiled.  I saw smudgy black something across her shoulder blades.  Is it…what, Chinese?"

"Yeah, it is," she said.  Kara had asked her to stand watch while she changed, and showed her it; along with the scar on her throat.  Olivia could honestly say that she now appreciated exactly how atrociously Adri and his as yet unapprehended brother had treated her.  She still spoke of Adrian in tones of mixed respect and hatred, something Olivia couldn't understand.

Elliot muttered into his mug.

"What was that?"

"I'm thinking that I need to change my name," he said, then smiled, "I'm kidding,"  


End file.
